Politics this week

Barack Obama unveiled his long-awaited decision on troop levels in Afghanistan. An extra 30,000 American soldiers will be deployed to fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban. This is a lower number than requested by General Stanley McChrystal, the commander on the ground, but Mr Obama called on other countries to make up some of the difference. He set a tentative date of mid-2011 to start pulling American troops out of Afghanistan. See article

Mr Obama invited businessmen, economists and unions to the White House for a summit on jobs. The Democrats are considering another package to tackle unemployment. See article

The mayor of Baltimore was convicted of stealing money from gift-cards intended for low-income families. Sheila Dixon used the cards to buy a camcorder and other items.

A man who shot to death four policemen in a coffee shop in Seattle was himself shot and killed by a patrol officer. The incident threw a spotlight on Mike Huckabee, a putative Republican presidential candidate for 2012. As governor of Arkansas he had pardoned the man, releasing him from prison in 2000.

The New York Senate rejected a bill that would have legalised gay marriage in the state. The scale of the defeat, 38 to 24, surprised lobbyists who spent more than a year trying to drum up support.

What would have been Latin America's first gay marriage was postponed when city officials in Buenos Aires called it off because of conflicting judicial rulings.

Split decision

Porfirio Lobo of the opposition centre-right National Party won Honduras's controversial presidential election with 55% of the vote on a turnout of around 60%. The United States and four Latin American countries said they would recognise the result. Brazil and others said they would not because it legitimised a June coup which ousted Manuel Zelaya from the presidency. See article

In Uruguay's presidential election, José Mujica, a former guerrilla of the centre-left Broad Front, defeated Luis Alberto Lacalle of the conservative National Party by 53% to 43%. Mr Mujica indicated that he would follow the generally moderate policies adopted by the outgoing Broad Front president, Tabaré Vázquez.

Cantankerous cantons

AP

Switzerland voted in a referendum to ban the construction of new minarets on mosques. Other Western countries and the Muslim world protested against the vote, which was inspired by the anti-immigrant Swiss People's Party. See article

The European Union's Lisbon treaty came into force amid a row over jobs in the European Commission. France's Nicolas Sarkozy called the British the “big losers” after Michel Barnier, a former French foreign minister, was put in charge of the single market, including financial services.

A militant Islamist group based in the north Caucasus claimed responsibility for two bombs that derailed the Moscow to St Petersburg express, killing 26 people. This was Russia's worst terrorist attack outside the north Caucasus for five years.

Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, released the draft of a European security treaty that could, in effect, let Russia veto future NATO expansion. NATO members reacted with silence.

The trial began in Munich of John Demjanjuk, an 89-year-old retired Ohio factory worker accused of being a camp guard in the Sobibor Nazi death camp and helping to murder Jews there. But it was adjourned because of Mr Demjanjuk's poor health.

Exasperating

Just days after the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog, scolded Iran for its nuclear activities, the Islamic Republic announced that it would build another ten uranium-enrichment plants; the Iranians said they might start building some of them within two months. Western countries trying to curb Iran's nuclear plans pressed China and Russia to intensify economic sanctions against Iran. See article

Five British yachtsmen were freed after being held for a week in Iran. They had strayed into Iranian waters while sailing from Bahrain to Dubai.

An explosion at a hotel in one of the few remaining areas of Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, that is still controlled by the UN-backed Somali government killed several people, including three ministers.

The poor health of Nigeria's president, Umaru Yar'Adua, prompted more than 50 prominent figures to call for his resignation, claiming a “vacuum of leadership”. Mr Yar'Adua has had a kidney ailment for some years; his aides now admit that he has heart problems too. He has missed several official functions in the past year while being treated.

Rwanda was accepted into the Commonwealth, joining Mozambique as the only other African country in the 54-member club not to have once been wholly run by Britain.

The military candidate

General Sarath Fonseka, the just-retired chief of Sri Lanka's army, confirmed that he will stand in a presidential election to be held on January 26th, to challenge Mahinda Rajapaksa, the incumbent. The two main opposition parties have said they will endorse the general.

Asif Zardari, Pakistan's president, handed control of the country's nuclear weapons to the prime minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani. The move was seen as a sop to the president's critics, as an amnesty protecting him and others from possible prosecution on corruption charges expired. It has little impact on the management of the nuclear arsenal.

A court in Malaysia ruled that Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the opposition, will have to stand trial on sodomy charges next month. Mr Anwar failed in his attempt to have the case thrown out because of medical evidence.

EPA

Australia's opposition Liberal Party elected a new leader. Tony Abbott replaces Malcolm Turnbull after a party revolt over his compromise with the Labor Party on a carbon-emissions-trading bill. The bill was then rejected in the Senate. See article

North Korea began redenominating its currency, the won, converting old banknotes for new at a rate of 100 to one. The measure, which will expropriate those with savings in won, was aimed at corrupt officials and well-off traders. See article